At least eleven people have been killed and around 35 others wounded in a Houthi attack on western Yemen's Mokha port near the Bab al Mandeb Strait and nearby residential areas.
The casualties on Sunday resulted from Houthi shelling of the port and residential neighbourhoods in the western city of Mokha in Taiz province, a medical source told the government-run Saba news agency.
A government source said port employees were among those wounded after the port and workers' housing were targeted.
The Yemeni media said at least seven civilians were killed; however, AFP, quoting a medical source in Mokha, said three civilians and eight military personnel from Yemen’s internationally recognised government had been killed in the Houthi attacks.
Yemeni air defences also intercepted Houthi drones over the city, while government forces thwarted an attempt by a Houthi booby-trapped boat to target the port's pier, according to military sources cited by Saba.
Deputy Information Minister Fayyad Alnoman said the attack had caused extensive damage to buildings, the port’s pier, commercial goods and food supplies.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said his group carried out what he called a “large-scale and high-quality military operation” targeting “Saudi military concentrations and weapons depots in the Mokha area.”
Saree said the attack involved ballistic missiles and drones, claiming that the strikes caused extensive damage to military equipment and weapons and killed and wounded dozens.
Yemeni retaliation
In retaliation, Yemen’s army bombed the Al-Mahroor area northwest of Taiz city, while artillery shelled Houthi gatherings on the Hameer front in Maqbanah and the Al Aqrud front in Sabir al-Masrah district, Saba reported.
Government forces also struck Houthi gatherings at Al-Madarij hill northwest of the city.
Saba also reported clashes between government forces and Houthis on several fronts in the province.
One of Yemen’s major seaports, Mokha is located near the Bab al Mandeb Strait, a strategic maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
The port is controlled by Yemeni government forces.
Fighting has periodically intensified along several Yemeni fronts since last month, leaving dozens of people dead and wounded on both sides.
Yemen had been under a relative lull since April 2022 after nearly 12 years of war between government forces and Houthis, who seized control of the capital Sanaa and large parts of the country in 2014.
